Perkiomen School overcame a pair of defensive hiccups in the sixth inning Saturday. A base running blunder by visiting Lawrenceville School limited the damage to two runs.

          Nick Guadarrama's two-out hit with the bases loaded in the bottom of

the seventh lifted the host Panthers to a 3-2 victory.

          Joshua Cruz allowed just five hits and two unearned runs in seven innings to post the victory. Cruz, who entered the season as their undisputed ace, has not disappointed on the mound, according to head coach Ken Baker.

          The pitcher, working with a 2-0 lead, allowed just two hits and three base runners though five innings. However, Cruz ran into trouble in the top of the sixth when he allowed two singles to start the inning. The second one, a bloop to shallow center field, dropped between three defenders.

          The Big Red's next hitter reached on a throwing error by Guadarrama at shortstop, which allowed one run to score. They forced a 2-2 tie on the next hitter, a ground ball to short.

          One hitter later, Lawrenceville School's runner on second base lost track of the outs and was doubled up on a fly ball to right field. 

          According to Baker, the goal is to avoid a "Little League inning" with multiple errors that leads to multiple runs.

          "Fortunately, that runner helped us out," the coach said.

          Cruz said Perkiomen School's defense showed it would not crack under the pressure. He said the team has made significant strides since his early struggles during its spring training speech to Puerto Rico.

           "We showed that we weren't going to crack under the pressure," Cruz said.  "The defense was able to handle it."

          A native of Manhattan in New York city, Cruz pitched efficiently. Though he registered only two strikeouts, the righthander needed just 85 pitches to complete the game.

          "So far Josh has done a great job," Baker said.

          According to the coach, the Panthers (5-1 overall) offense continues to struggle with runners in scoring position. They stranded 10 runners for the second straight game against Lawrenceville School.

          Perkiomen School snapped a scoreless tie in the fourth inning on a two-run single by Ian Diaz. The left handed hitter sliced a pitch from Sam Cabot, a tall left handed reliever, to score Sam Glavin (walk) and David Smith (infield hit).

          The Panthers clinched their victory in the seventh inning. Chis Pow reached on an infield hit, took second on a walk to Naty Urbina and moved to third when Jayden Kemp was hit by a pitch. Guadarrama then fouled off two pitches with two strikes before lining the game-winning hit to left center.

          "Nick got a pitch he liked," Baker said.

          On Wednesday, April 5, the Panthers rolled to a 14-0 victory over Mercy Vocational Academy.

          Zach Smith and Manny Ariza combined to throw five no-hit innings. Jayden Kemp's three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning capped an 11-run rally.

          Glavin contributed three RBI for Perkiomen School, which managed just five hits but worked 12 walks.

          Cruz, the team's leadoff hitter, worked three walks and scored three runs. David Smith and Chris Pow each scored twice.